Seven Islanders Recognized on All-Southland Baseball Teams

CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi baseball team saw seven players earn recognition from the Southland Conference on Monday, as the league announced its all-conference teams for the 2014 season.

Senior third baseman Brandon Tierney was the lone Islander to earn First-Team All-Southland honors, while junior pitcher Matt Danton was placed on the second team. A trio of Islanders were tabbed on the third team, as seniors Cody Stephens and Russell Vaughan picked up the honors at second base and catcher respectively, while junior outfielder Tyler Ware joined them.

The five members placed on the three all-conference teams tied for the most out of any Southland teams, as Sam Houston State and Oral Roberts each had five players honored as well.

Two more players from A&M – Corpus Christi were also recognized as honorable mention, as juniors Jordan Lee and Trevor Belicek earned votes from at least 25 percent of the league's coaches and sports information directors.

After earning honorable mention a year ago, Tierney had a strong year at the plate and defensively at the hot corner to be placed on the first team in his senior season. The native of Arlington, Texas, led the team throughout the regular season with his .335 batting average. A 13-game hit streak, as well as five consecutive three-hit games during that stretch, helped him to the solid average.

In his second season after transferring from Iowa Western JC, Tierney tallied 11 doubles, two triples and three home runs in his 68 hits to give him the highest slugging percentage on the team at .453. He finished second in on-base percentage at .429, while also driving in the fourth most runs on the season with 30.

The lone Islander on the second team, right-handed pitcher Danton was the workhorse for A&M – Corpus Christi this season, compiling the third-most innings pitched in the Southland during the regular season with 95, just two thirds of an inning less than the leader in the category.

The Conroe, Texas, native settled in as the Friday night starter for the team, and was able to tally quality starts in 11 of his 14 appearances, going at least seven innings in nine of his outings.

Danton finished second on the team in ERA at 3.69, while picking up seven wins on the year. The righty also posted the lowest batting average against at .264, while also setting down 59 batters by way of strikeout.

For the second consecutive season Stephens made his way onto the third team. During the regular season, the second baseman hit .283 and tied for the team lead with 32 RBIs. Stephens turned it on in league play, picking up 28 of those RBIs against Southland foes, while also stealing eight of his 11 bases in conference games.

Fellow senior Vaughan joined Stephens on the team, as the catcher had a big turnaround at the plate in his second season with the Islanders, hitting .319 at the plate — the second highest average on the team — after batting just .181 at the dish a year ago. He played especially well against Southland foes, hitting at a .374 clip during conference games.

Vaughan finished first on the team in on-base percentage at .459, with his 32 walks leading the team as well. His mark of .488 in that category during Southland play was the highest in the conference.

Newcomer Ware joined the senior leaders on the third team in his first season with the Islanders after transferring from Iowa Western, hitting .294 on the year, while tying for the team lead in RBIs at 32 as well as home runs with three.

The native of Omaha, Neb., had a strong finish to the season, reaching base safely in 23 consecutive games before failing to get on in the series finale. He also had a knack for collecting triples, as he recorded six, which ranks in the top 20 in the nation.

For the third straight year, Lee was tabbed as honorable mention, as he is now just one stolen base short of tying teammate Stephens for the most stolen bases in a single season, sitting at 18. Lee also tallied the third-highest batting average on the team at .304 to go along with 27 RBIs on the season.

Belicek earned honorable mention after settling in during the second half of the season to post an ERA of 4.09 with four wins on the year in 88 innings of work. He also finished in fourth among Southland pitchers in punchouts with 74 on the year, with 54 of those coming against conference foes.

As a team, the Islanders finished in a tie for third place in the Southland on the season, and earned the three seed in the conference tournament. A&M – Corpus Christi will play tournament host Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. in the final game of day one in the tourney at Bear Stadium. For full information on the tournament, visit the tournament website by clicking HERE.

Fans can keep up with the team on various social media outlets by following the team on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersBSB), as well as on Facebook (IslandersBaseball).